English Lessons for Eggs

Look at these beautiful eggs. Aren't they worth 2 hours of English lessons to two teenage girls? I don't really know the going rate but we're happy on both sides of the equation. When working for family or friends, I'm a big fan of bartering. I've got some skills, you've got some stuff, then badda-bing, badda-boom, I've got a dozen eggs from backyard chickens. You should see the bright-orange yolks. I love the wee little one in the bottom left corner.

How many cupcakes to get my taxes done? Hmm...

Oh blog... Where am I going? Where have I been?

I love this little blog. I really do. And I feel like I've been neglecting it. It's like those commercials they ran in the eighties about people who would get a puppy for a birthday and then let the full grown dog rot in the backyard.

Blog, I've got the guilt. The Bloggy Guilt. And the only cure for Bloggy Guilt is more blogging. Harder, faster, more productive blogging. But I don't have it in me right now, I got this Life that's getting all sticky and wonderful and stressful pulling me away these days.

Blog, there may be a new kitchen in my very near future. A kitchen with more than one square foot of counterspace! A kitchen with a dishwasher! A kitchen with Ground Fault Circuit Interupt! A kitchen where a bird's nest won't fall from this weird hole in the ceiling into a pie! A kitchen where I won't have to ask permission to paint.

And then there's my birthday. It's a big one. I'm turning 30. I don't do birthdays very well. I whine about them a lot and I stew over getting older and pretend like I don't care but, dude, I care. And I'm leaving my twenties. Can I just have the audacity to state that my twenties were awesome? The last ten years of my life were hard but so, so good and I packed them full.

So. Blog. Don't you worry. I still have the love. I have a backlog of photos and recipes (and am consistently creating more of both) waiting in the wings for gentler times.

Field Trip: Fresh & Easy

Have you had a Fresh & Easy pop up in your neighborhood in the last few months? I visited one a while ago and wasn't super impressed-- it was a charmless Trader Joe's at best. I thought they'd fade slowly into the background but they've continued their slow march of development in strip malls across the Southland and elsewhere. One opened up nearby and I wanted to give it one more chance.

I work late two nights a week, so dinner on those nights tends to be take-out or sandwiches (or Patrick takes me out for sushi.) Fresh & Easy seems to focus on convenience items, so it seemed like the perfect place to pick up ingredients for a quick dinner.

I must say, it's a better store than I remembered. There's an impressive array of meatless products (click to enlarge):


Lots of different olive oils...


$5.98 for 3/4 of a pound of fairly traded, organic coffee beans? (Wait-- what the heck is fairly traded? Is this some sort of trickery?)


An strong array of cured meats, including bresaola:


This "grill pack" is $10 for 4 pork sausages, 4 beef patties, and a mess of chicken. What are your thoughts on cross-contamination here?


Here are my spoils. For $29.25, I got whole wheat bread ($2.46 and no HFCS), 14 oz of cleaned collards ($2.64), coffee ($5.98), aluminum foil ($3.49 (this seemed a bit pricey)), pepperoni ($3.48 and no nitrates), foccacia dough ($1.49), marinated artichokes ($3.98 and DELICIOUS), sliced turkey ($2.98), a stupid generous bag of gorgeous lemons ($.98 for 5!) and a dozen eggs ($1.49).


We decided to make a pizza with the foccacia dough, articokes, pepperoni and some mozerella that was in the fridge. Before:


After!


It was much tastier and cheaper than anything we could have gotten from Pappa John's.

Now, Fresh & Easy is slighty controversial in Southern California. You see, our grocery stores are unionized but I lost a lot of love for grocers unions after the strikes. I'm pretty pleased with my experience and I think I'll be headed back soon.

Shirataki Noodles with Chicken and Peanut Sauce

I'm having a good time with shirataki noodles. They are so easy to use and the fact that they're low-calorie means I don't feel so bad about having one of my favorite sauces-- peanut sauce! This sauce is great with shrimp or beef or stir-fry veggies if chicken isn't your thing.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
a big pinch of ground ginger (or a teaspoon of fresh grated, if you have it)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 package shirataki noodles, rinse and drained
1 chicken breast, grilled and sliced
1/2 cup kim chee, chopped (optional. If you skip the kim chee, consider adding a few drops of hot sauce)
1 green onion, chopped

How To
In a sauce pan, heat the soy sauce, vinegar, water, ginger and peanut butter over low heat until the ingredients combine and bubble. Add the noodles, chicken and kim chee and toss. Pour in a bowl and garnish with onion.

Shopping: Bake It Pretty

Do you ever feel like you've been in a cave? How have I missed out on Bake It Pretty? How fantastic is this little online shop? How many more questions can I ask in one paragraph?

I just placed my first order and will let you know how it all turns out. I see adorable cupcakes and chocolates in everyone's future.

Ham, Cheese and Pear Sandwich

You need this sandwich. This sandwich needs you.

Ingredients
1 crusty French baguette, cut lengthwise
thin slices of good ham
thin slices of pear (apple would work well here too)
arugula
cheese (I used brie but Gruyere would be heavenly)
freshly cracked black pepper

How To
Open the baguette. On one side, pile arugula, then ham. Be sure the ham covers the arugula. On the other piece of bread, put down a healthy layer of cheese, then thin slices of pear. Sprinkle with pepper. Place the sandwich under a broiler until the cheese has melted and the ham is slightly toasted.


Press the two sides of the sandwich and slice. Serve warm. One baguette will make enough for two or three people (or one very hungry, very greedy, very happy person.) One last beauty shot: